LETTER: It is of no doubt that our country's Covid-19 vaccination exercise has, since July 2021, been extraordinary and commendable.
Up until August 23, more than 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered with close to 13 million people have already received two doses. The population of Klang Valley, in particular, has currently received the highest number of doses in tandem with the primary goal of Operation Surge.
Nevertheless, the pace in many other states is comparatively slower, with 9 states still having less than 50 per cent of their respective adult population being fully vaccinated.
While it is understood that the emphasis thus far is to intensify the vaccination exercise in states with the highest rates of infection and ICU utilization, let us not forget about the looming dangers of monsoon season faced by the flood-prone states.
In approximately two months from now, many areas in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor are expected to be hit by floods, and potentially thousands of victims would be placed at the designated evacuation centers throughout the entire course of the monsoon season.
As these evacuation centers typically place many evacuees in the same space at the same time and many evacuees would not be able to strictly observe the SOPs all the time, the risk of Covid-19 transmission is therefore higher at these centers.
On top of that, the newly discovered fact that Covid-19 is also airborne will definitely amplify the said risk.
It must also be stressed that the per capita hospital beds (ICU included), medical specialists, ventilators, and oxygenators are lower in these states in contrast to Klang Valley. Any delays in the vaccination exercise will consequently risk overwhelming the hospitals there and create another healthcare crisis like the one we saw in Klang Valley a few weeks ago.
Hence, the government must now take all possible efforts to get at least 80 per cent of the adult populations in these states receive their second dose by mid-October, for it takes 2-3 weeks after the second dose to attain the desired level of immunity.
Alternatively, we can also use single-dose vaccines like CanSino and Johnson & Johnson to make the exercise more efficient. Also, the officials in these states can learn from and replicate the efforts taken by the Sarawak government in their vaccination campaign.
The government certainly can afford to move fast as we already have tens of thousands of dedicated civil servants ready to be deployed in those states.
SHAHRUL AMRI AB WAHAB
SYAZLIANA KASIM
Faculty of Business & Management
Universiti Teknologi Mara, Rembau